My RT-AX82U Node Keeps Dropping from AiMesh

[Rana Imran]

I’ve been running an AiMesh setup with two Asus RT-AX82U units (Firmware Version:3.0.0.4.388_25030), one as the main router and the other as an AiMesh node, plus an additional DSL-AC68U as another node. Everything had been working fine until yesterday.

Out of nowhere, my RT-AX82U node started disappearing from the AiMesh list. Instead of showing as a node, it suddenly appeared in the client list, almost like it had stopped being part of the mesh.

Today, I decided to do a full factory reset on the RT-AX82U node and re-add it to the AiMesh. The pairing worked perfectly at first, and the node showed up as expected. But after a short while, it happened again and the node dropped off and was back in the client list.

Has anyone else experienced this? What could be causing the RT-AX82U to keep removing itself from the AiMesh, and how can I fix it?

Edit: RT-AX82U Node is connected through cable.

 

[Rana Imran]

Could the issue be related to the fact that I recently updated to this signature version and started experiencing the problem mentioned earlier?

 

[degrub]

If they were coincident in time and sequential, then yes, . Can you revert ? Best case for AiMesh has always been same hardware, same firmware.
BTW, the issue may be in the main router.

 

[Rana Imran]

If they were coincident in time and sequential, then yes, . Can you revert ? Best case for AiMesh has always been same hardware, same firmware.
BTW, the issue may be in the main router.

How to revert? Can you please guide? Should I factory reset main router?

 

[Rana Imran]

My RT-AX82U node keeps dropping out of AiMesh and showing up as a client instead of staying as a node.

Has anyone else seen this or found a fix? Really appreciate any help.

 

[bbunge]

Could the issue be related to the fact that I recently updated to this signature version and started experiencing the problem mentioned earlier?
View attachment 67376

No, the Trend Micro signature should not bother AiMesh.
Are you using fixed 160 MHz or fixed DFS channel?

 

[Rana Imran]

Are you using fixed 160 MHz or fixed DFS channel?

Following is Wireless settings:

 

[degrub]

disable channel bandwidth 160 MHz
set manual channel bandwidth 80 MHz
set control channel to AUTO

see what happens.

 

[Rana Imran]

disable channel bandwidth 160 MHz
set manual channel bandwidth 80 MHz
set control channel to AUTO

see what happens.

I have configured the settings as per your instructions. Hopefully, this resolves the issue.

 

[bbunge]

And enable Smart Connect. Using 20, 40, 80, 160 MHz is OK as long as you have Auto channel. That way the router and node an choose what works best. In fact, leaving the WIFI settings at default works best for me.

 

[Rana Imran]

After setting the control channel to AUTO, my Android devices and even my Dell laptop struggle to connect to the 5GHz band. When I manually set the channel to 149, everything works perfectly. With AUTO enabled, the 5GHz band doesn’t even appear on my Android devices.

 

[degrub]

Can you choose a control channel outside of the DFS channels ?
You may have to "forget" the network on the client device to force it .

 

[Rana Imran]

I have these channels available

 

[bbunge]

It is likely your Android clients do not like DFS channels especially if they are older devices. Leave the 5 GHz on Auto channel and disable DFS. I believe power wise the channels 36-48 are better. 80 MHz bandwidth also will give better WIFI strength.

 

[degrub]

Use one of the low channels 48 or less

"There are 16 DFS channels in the UNII-2 and UNII-2e space (52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140, and 144). These channels have two major drawbacks, especially for voice clients. These drawbacks are 1.) The length of time it takes for a client to scan DFS channels. 2.) When radar events are heard the APs and device must move off that channel."

DFS channels and why to avoid them (even though you say you cannot) – WIFI_NC

actually, 149 is not a DFS channel in the US. What country are you operating in ?

The wiki has a more specific reference to which are allowed by regulation country.

List of WLAN channels - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Scroll down to 5 Ghz.

 

[Rana Imran]

Channel 149, which I am currently using is not a DFS Channel. When using channels in the range of 36 to 48, the 5GHz band does not appear on my older Android devices. These devices seem to be incompatible with those specific channels. Channels 149 through 161 are fully compatible with my devices.

 

[degrub]

Is the Aimesh backhaul set to AUTO or Ethernet ?

Do you have firmware upgrade set to AUTO ?

 

[Rana Imran]

Backhaul connection priority is set to auto, while the auto firmware upgrade is disabled. On the other hand, for the first time, DSL-AC68U (2nd Node, Connected Wirelessly) has disappeared from the AiMesh list and is now appearing in the Client List.

 

[degrub]

Have you looked at the system logs ? Post a copy to here and maybe we can spot something around the time when one of the nodes disconnects.


What firmware version is on the DSL-AC68U ?

Since the main and the hardwired node are same device, same firmware, leave the DSL unit off and see if you can get the one node to be stable .
Can you go back at least one firmware revision on all the devices if you need to ?

Sounds like a factory reset and manual configure may be in order for all of the devices to at least start from a known state, no matter which firmware is running.

Had any power issues / lightning recently ?

 

[Rana Imran]

actually, 149 is not a DFS channel in the US. What country are you operating in ?

I currently live in Pakistan.